Dreams in the Fields
by InsufferableFirecracker
Summary: Little white lies are easy. It's the truth that's hard. Denial is comfortable. Love is not.
1. Chapter 1

**Dreams in the Fields - Chapter 1**

The sun was setting on another evening, no breeze to speak of, the whirling of a nearby fan the only thing turning the dead air around in the room. With her long blonde hair wrapped in a bath towel, and her underwear the only thing covering her body, a blonde woman leaned heavily on her desk. Only a small lamp, and a dairy lingering on the worn old wood. It had lost its finish, plenty of water stains and pen marks proving just how old it was. Fade crayon from time gone by scuffed the surface. It was just another story in this old house.

If the walls could talk, they'd probably have endless things to say.

Sadly, they couldn't murmur a word, and this evening was unusually quiet. Not even the crickets were signing, a testament to the heatwave spilling over Vale, and thusly, the island known as Patch.

The glass of lemonade in her hand dripped with condensation, as if it also protested its very existence. Yang could only gulp it down quickly, the sugary drink only having the slightest bit of a tart aftertaste. Crushing the ice between her teeth, a bad habit of hers, further helped to keep at bay the sweltering temperatures in her bedroom. It was only as she set the now empty glass on the sill, allowing it to catch the fading rays of the sun just right, that she sat at her desk and began to write, same as she had done every since she was a child.

 _Dear Diary,_

 _The heat sucks, but you already know that. The crops are dryer than usual, but you know that too. I feel like I'm running out of new things to say, but time makes a habit of that. I guess it makes sense. Live in one place too long, it catches up to you. That's what dad says, anyway. He seems alright with that way of thinking. I wish I could say the same._

 _I find myself doing that a lot more now than I ever used to…wishing…daydreaming…getting distracted. I don't know why. I just do. That's pretty childish, right?_

Of course it was, and with a grunt of annoyance she slammed the diary closed with a newfound aggravation.

"Are you okay, Yang?" Ruby, her little sister called through the door, a knock following after. "Yang?"

"I'm fine." The blond said. It was just a little white lie. It couldn't hurt, right? It wasn't meant to do lasting damage.

The door creaked open before Yang could stop it. Her younger sibling leaning in from the doorway. "You don't sound fine, Yang." Ruby noted, a laundry basket being supported between her hand and her hip. She looked older like that, more mature. Motherly, in a way. It wasn't the first time Yang noticed, it probably wouldn't be the last. "Actually, sis, you look really angry too."

"I'm not."

"Your eyes are red."

"Maybe, but I'm not mad." Yang shot back.

"What are you, then?" Ruby pressed, the question simply dangling in the air between them.

"I guess I'm just tired." Not quite a lie this time. A half truth, even so, Yang wasn't sure it was good enough.

"Your eyes don't just turn red when you're tired." Ruby pointed out, taking a step forward and closing the door behind her. "They turn red when you're mad. Your semblance has always been like that, and it's never been something you can control." Setting her laundry basket down, she leaned against the wall. "Want to talk about it?"

"There's nothing to really talk about." Yang shrugged. "I'm fine sis, really."

"Oh, well..." Ruby was unconvinced, but she had long since learned to accept when her family members were intent on keeping things from her. With a little nod, she sighed. accepting Yang's desire for privacy was better than pushing her. "Okay then, If you're sure it's no big deal or anything." Unhappy as it made her to feign ignorance, being the little sister meant doing that sometimes. "If you change your mind, though, you know where to find me."

"I won't. Thanks anyway." Yang said as she watched Ruby gather her basket once again and leave, shutting the door behind her.

Opening one of the drawers, Yang pulled out a small wooden compact. The inside contained old blush and a cracked mirror. The puff to go along with it had long since been discarded. Her fingers caressed the aged wood, her thumb skimming along the pink product within. She'd never worn the make-up. It wasn't even her color, and it wouldn't compliment her in the slightest. That didn't matter.

It was the history that meant everything to Yang. Who she was, and who this compact used to belong to. That's what truly mattered at the end of it all. When she looked into the broken fragments of the mirror, she'd always felt calmer. Catching sight of herself in the mirror this time didn't yield those desperately desired results.

Ruby was right, her eyes were red. Although, Yang had already known that. With a few steadying breaths she closed the compact and put it away, reaching once again for her pen and the diary.

 _I've gotta stop doing this. One day, someone's going to catch on. Now, where was I? Oh, right. Ah, I guess that doesn't matter._

 _Know what's funny? Everything's quiet tonight, too quiet. I miss the nights when crickets sang and the bullfrogs wouldn't shut up. Dad says that the dust from that new mine is polluting the air. That the Schnee Dust Company doesn't seem to care about the damage they're doing to nature. He told me he's seen what an open mineshaft does to the land._

 _If it gets bad enough, the crops won't grow. That's what he keeps saying, and I know he's probably right. It _happens a lot in Vacuo, and there are a ton of mines there.__

 _ _Dad's totally obsessing about what might happen to our land. _While he worries about the future, I go back to thinking about the past. I just stick to what I know. I do the work around here, but I don't ask questions. Sometimes, I think I should...___

 _I flip backwards through these pages sometimes…_

 _I do it a lot, actually. I just spend hours reading old stuff. It probably doesn't mean much in the grand scheme anymore, but I think it helps. It's important to me. It reminds me who I was, where I came from. It's all I have left of those days, it's not like I can preserve it…I tried, but, life goes on…_

* * *

The morning came sooner than anyone truly wanted.

In most households, it was uncommon to see a busty twenty-five year old woman walk around in an oversized shirt that barely covered her boy shorts. Yet, most households didn't belong to the Xiao-long family. The huntress yanked a chair out from the table, slumping in it with a hangover that could only come from a night of drinking with her uncle. A party for a man who would be gone on another several month long mission.

True to his word, he was gone by sunrise. She had to respect that about him, knowing he'd probably left with a hangover worse than her own.

When she became a huntress, she thought she would see action. Real combat with Grimm, like he did. It was what she had been trained for, but Grimm activity on the island was scarce at best. Boredom was her companion as she sat around, waiting for missions to be handed to her. So here she was, a young woman on an island packed with ex-huntsmen looking for an easier way to earn a living.

Farming was the perfect occupation. They could defend their own land, protect outlying crops. A lone huntsmen worth his salt could take down anything in this area of Vale without too much trouble.

She had grown up as the daughter of one such huntsman. Yang had been rolling around in the dirt, minding the crops, and fighting Grimm ever since she was a child. Taiyang raised her to take over the farm, to learn to fight for self-defense. He never assumed she would take to the training with such gusto. That she would get her license, or that she would spend the days twiddling her fingers, waiting for jobs that never came.

He never imagined that, true to the Branwen bloodline, Yang would find herself lost in a world far too large and nuanced for her own good.

Much like Qrow, even more like Raven. Yang seemed to be following in their footsteps.

"No work today?" He asked.

"None." Yang grumbled. Another tiny lie. A believable one.

"Not that I mind, or anything, but If you don't want to work the land, you probably won't find a job in Patch." He said, sliding some bacon and eggs across the table. "There hasn't been an invasion of Grimm activity in over ten years."

"Yeah, but the city doesn't have any Grimm either. It's all grunt work, or dealing with criminals." She said, buttering her toast and taking a huge bite, stuffing her mouth full. A glance to the clock as she chewed only made her roll her eyes. All of the daily missions had likely been assigned by now. No call, meant no incoming missions worth taking. "I'm a huntress, not a cop."

"The two often work hand in hand." He replied.

"Not out in the wilds they don't." She scoffed, boredom and crankiness made worse by her head pounding in agony. "Military maybe, but local enforcement wouldn't last a week under a Grimm infestation. That's why huntsmen and huntresses are what we are. We're not meant to deal with people, that's not our training."

"You spend too much time with your uncle."

"Maybe, but he still goes on missions, and you don't." Yang pointed out. "So that says a lot about him, just like it says a lot about you."

"Uh-huh…" The man drawled out.

"Besides, you can't do everything here on your own." Yang continued, stabbing a corner of that toast into one of the sunny side up eggs. "The farm's too big for one person." Distractedly, she continued dipping that same corner into her yolk. "If you ever got some actual help around here, you'd realize that…"

Taiyang sighed as he poured himself some coffee, sitting down at the table. He felt inclined to agree. "No. I can't do it all on my own, but Ruby's here. You're here most of the time. Even if you're gone for a little while, the community is very helpful, I won't be alone."

"Dad, come on, you know what I mean."

Drinking from his coffee slowly, he grimaced, adding in two lumps of sugar and a dash of cream. He sipped from it again and sighed, deliberately setting the drink off to the side. "Trust me." He murmured quietly. "I know your sister is in no condition to be working the field. If I could afford it, I would buy machines. Hell, I might take out a loan and buy some anyway."

"But dust powered machines are expensive." Yang retorted. "You'd never make the money back. Patch is just a small island all things considered, and our property isn't even the largest on the island."

"You're right about that." Taiyang grumbled. "It's one of the smallest. To top it off, the Arc's just invested in another plot."

"Uncle Qrow is still going on missions and all." She said. "Maybe ask him to take a few more high paying ones. The partner missions."

"We're not as young as we used to be." Taiyang laughed. "He's a good huntsman, don't get me wrong, but there are limits to what he can accomplish on his own. I'm not in my prime either, so partner missions are out of the question."

"That's why I should partner up with him."

"Nope." The man regarded his daughter carefully. "You're too green."

"How else am I supposed to get experience?"

"Not with him, that's for sure."

"Dad, I'm not a baby..."

"I said no, Yang. His particular line of work is too dangerous for you." Seeing her shrug with a mouth full of food, he could only shake his head. "Besides, you don't want to kill criminals or deal with people."

"Bandits aren't the same thing as big city criminals." Yang shot back after she swallowed.

"You're right, they're worse."

"Are you ever really going to level with me about why you don't want me out there with him?" Yang asked then. "Or am I going to have to just follow him out there one day on my own?"

"Yang.."

"I will, if I have to."

"There's nothing to level with you about. The academy should have taught you everything you need to know." Taiyang said distantly. Toying with a piece of bacon, he scowled at it for a long while before taking a bite. "And if it didn't, well, let's just say that our family's history is muddled enough without you stirring the pot."

"Yeah, so you always say…" Yang groused, largely unconvinced.

"Personally, I think you should look into a different line of work." Taiyang said, changing the subject as best as he could. "You'd be amazed at how many people would willingly hire a huntress."

She just rolled her eyes at this. Deep purple sliding behind closed lids. "Dad, it's not that I didn't get a job offer. It's that I don't think I'll get paid if I'm driven to punch my client in the face."

"Depends on the client." Her father huffed.

"You're not going to elaborate on that, are you?"

"Digressing from my personal scuffles, what was your job offer, and why didn't you take it?"

Yang licked her lips, as she got up and walked into the living room. Pulling open a creaky desk drawer, her father could hear it squealing in protest. Slamming it shut, she returned a few moments later, a torn envelope in hand. "Got this yesterday, while you were out. The request is a guard position over Weiss Schnee, one of the largest snobs in the dust trade imaginable. Apparently, she'll be coming to Vale, and her father wanted to hire some extra security detail."

"Give me that." He said, reaching for the document. He flipped it open and glanced at the assigned mission. "Hmm, says here that he stipulated that her protection should be a human female."

"I know." Yang protested. "How racist is the guy, really? I knew he was bad, but still."

"A very, _very_ rich racist." Taiyang grumbled.

"I can't believe you." Yang shot back. "That doesn't make it right."

"I'm not condoning the man." He said distractedly as he read the paperwork further.

Yang could only gawk at him, breakfast entirely forgotten. "I guess the big-wigs down in the assignment offices don't think I'm good enough to do anything but play a babysitter to a prickly heiress. I swear, they all act like I'm a dumb bimbo or something."

"This paperwork argues that statement."

"Dad…"

"No, really, I mean that. The Schnee family, Weiss particularly, stands to be a very high profile client." He could almost feel his daughter's annoyance and disappointment. On the one hand, he understood her vexation, but on the other… "I think you should take the job. It'll be a learning experience for you."

"Are you kidding me? Dad, its Weiss friggin' Schnee. You don't get more pompous and stuck up than a wealthy Atlas brat. She's had a silver spoon in her mouth since the day she was born. She doesn't know anything about Vale, or the dust mines, or even about the Faunus refugees hiding here in Vale illegally because they're too scared to go back to Atlas!"

"That doesn't matter. A job, temporary as it might be, is a job." He carefully looked over the requirements. Most people asked for a hunter by name, many others asked for particular qualities, and the ones listed seemed rational to him. "A human female is being requested. It makes sense. His daughter is coming here alone, with only one personal guard. I know it might seem like the offices are just brushing you aside, and on the surface, maybe they are. Thing is, there's another way to look at this too."

"What way is that?"

Taiyang stretched, leaning back in his chair to reach a small shelf by the table that was just over his head. Grabbing the wooden box between both hands he brought it down, pulling out a cigarette and a lighter with two names engraved on it. One in the front, one in the back. A heart around the both of them added the finishing touch to the gold case. He took the time to light his tobacco product before closing it and sliding the object across the table. "We were a split team, two women, and two men. As you can guess, there were things that some of us were more suited for than others. Our partnership combinations depended on that."

"I'm not a partnered huntress."

"No, but you and Weiss Schnee should be about the same age, and that could play a factor in all of this. Vale's a comparatively safe place to be, unlike some other areas of the world. Whoever gave you the assignment might have assumed that it would be good for the girl to be protected by a peer. Someone who might share similar interests." The smoke billowed out of his moth as he said this, and he only paused to take another drag. "As tone deaf as it might sound, Weiss Schnee is a high profile figure. People know a girl like her, and this is a big shot for you, even if it doesn't seem like it."

"I don't think I want a girl like her, or her dad's name, on a reference sheet though. A lot of good that'll do me if I ever decide to take jobs from Faunus."

At this, her father merely smirked. "That's the beauty of being a huntress, Yang. You can take jobs from anyone, anywhere, at any time _. It really doesn't matter_ , so long as the pay's good. For us, it just needs to be a job worthwhile. Take it as you will, kiddo, but the way I look at it, being a huntsman was the most indiscriminate job I ever had. For the better, and for the worse…frankly, that's just the hazard of the job."

Yang only gave her father a look, one that spoke all of her displeasure. Disgusted and surprised that such a thing had come out of his mouth. "…and you say I spend too much time with Qrow." When her father only shrugged his shoulders at her, she hefted herself up from the chair and rubbed her forehead. "I'm going to get dressed and start on the east end…you start in the west, we'll meet in the middle."

"Hopefully before nightfall." He agreed.

"That's why I keep telling you, hire a damn farmhand!" She shot back, as she made her way upstairs to dress for the day ahead.


	2. Chapter 2

**Dreams in the Fields - Chapter 2**

The Kingdom of Vale was a safer place for a Faunus to live. At least it was, compared to most of the other large, well protected kingdoms. A Faunus citizen of Vale would be met with less adversity, and better paying jobs. Emergency services didn't turn Faunus away. Healthcare considered their needs. Insurance was much easier to come by. Housing and transportation weren't segregated, and there was plenty of it to go around.

All things considered, it was simply an easier life for a Faunus, especially if they had a family to look after.

That didn't mean their struggle was over though. No, not by a long shot. There were always improvements to hope for, of course. Vale had very few Faunus voices in positions of political power, and some people maintained that Faunus weren't receiving accurate representation as a result. That didn't change the fact that most Faunus dreamed of the day they could become a citizen of Vale's kingdom.

Sun Wukong was one such Faunus with very little to his name.

As immigrant hailing from Vacuo, he was one of four farmhands helping to take care of the property own by the Arcs. The Arc family raised livestock on the far side of Patch. As a result, they needed a team of hunters to keep the borders safe from prowling Grimm in search of a good meal. It was idle work, lazy, on most days. Sun spent a handful of hours just enjoying the sunny weather and the scents on the breeze.

The Arcs were kind folk, and like many family's in the countryside, they were pleasant to work for. They were also an incredibly large family. Only growing larger by the day as the patriarch's many daughters began to date, wed, and raise families of their own.

What had once been a single household on a small plot of land had already grown over the years. Now, the Arcs owned four houses to accommodate their growing family. The upcoming land expansions were unavoidable as a result.

Sun chuckled to himself as he pretended not to see the lone male heir of the Arc family, Jaune, take an interest at a woman passing by. The Faunus knew exactly how that would end up. The daffodil gripped in the blonde boy's hand would go unwanted by the chestnut haired young woman. She would reject him, just like all the others, and then Jaune would sulk for a few hours.

The daft, but well-meaning young man would be subjected to the vicious cycle over and over again.

"Jaune, come on buddy, there's a time and a place to pick up chicks. In the middle of the afternoon just isn't it." Sun replied, his tail flicking from side to side as he sat on the nearby fence with his weapon resting idly at his side. With a sandwich in one hand and a canteen of water in the other, he was currently enjoying the lunch that Ruby had brought to him. "I keep telling you, you're trying too hard."

"How can a person try too hard?" Jaune scoffed. "Doesn't that just prove that you're invested?"

"Or desperate, dude." Sun said, stuffing another corner of his sandwich into his mouth. "Actually, probably that." The peanut butter and banana combination was something he had always loved, even as a child. Cherished memories of home flooded his mind. He closed his eyes and smirked as he chewed. It was the simple things that pleased him most.

"Do people think I'm really that hard up?" Jaune said shyly. "Nah, not me. No way."

It was obvious that Sun didn't believe him. "Did you see what she was wearing?" The monkey tailed Faunus asked rhetorically. "She's probably some snooty rich girl. Women like that don't want anything to do with guys like us."

"So many pretty women around here, and all of them hate me…" June grinned back. The self-deprecation clear on his face. "Go figure."

"We don't hate you, Jaune." Ruby corrected, toying with a few pieces of particularly long grass. "It's just, you know, you're related to most of them, and even the ones you're not related to, you might as well be. You've got seven sisters, and I don't even know how many cousins."

"Ah, the dreaded curse of Arc blood. Women run strong in the family." Jaune lifted his head, seeing the soft look of pity that Ruby was shooting at him. "Aw, come on, Ruby, don't give me the puppy eyes. Besides, I'm glad that you don't hate me, but if we ever dated, we'd end up killing each other."

"Duh." Ruby laughed. "That's what happens when you grow up with your best friend."

"Right, I'm going to pretend I know what that means." Sun deadpanned.

"It means exactly what you think it does." Ruby said with a grin. "I've known Jaune my whole life, he's more like my brother than anything else."

"I don't need any more sisters, thanks." He grumbled. "That reminds me though, Sun. I've been meaning to ask... You know, that ring you gave Ruby really is something. How did you manage to pay for it?"

"What that thing?" Sun asked, gesturing to the engagement ring hanging from a thin silver chain around Ruby's neck. "It's just a keepsake my mom had. I don't think it's actually worth all that much. I come from a pretty poor family."

"That alone means you can't put a price on it. It's too important." Ruby said then, before brushing the topic to the side. "Really though, Jaune, you'll find someone someday. You're a good guy, but let's be honest, most people don't want to live out where the Grimm wander around."

"Not that it's a big deal." Sun said thoughtfully. "Grimm around here get killed pretty quickly."

"It's the same at my place." Ruby said with a shrug. "It's just that most people don't understand what it's like out here."

"Well they would if they actually came out this way." Sun said, patting the weapon leaning on the side of the fence. "Besides, if he ever got a girlfriend, she'd have nothing to worry about. Nothing's getting passed me. The land is as safe as it can be."

"It can be safe, but sometimes it's not. Let's face it, those are the times that make the front page news." Ruby had her own weapon resting folded and position on her lower back. She didn't intend to use it, but leaving it behind simply wasn't an option to her. She'd never leave the one thing that made her feel safe when nothing else could. "We know it's not always dangerous because we live out here, but all you need is one Grimm attack to make the news, and everyone freaks out."

"People are stupid then." Sun groused, tail flicking wildly at his annoyance on the subject. "Can't live without crops and livestock. Someone's got to do it."

"Jaune isn't much of a huntsman, either." Ruby murmured.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Jaune, but it's true. Some girls just have certain expectations of guys who work the land, namely that they can defend it too. Then again, you probably wouldn't be happy with that kind of girl anyway, so don't worry too much about that."

The Arc crossed his arms indignantly. "Just because I'm not crazy enough to fight off Grimm like you two, doesn't mean I don't have my good qualities. I know more about cattle than the both of you combined."

"I didn't say you didn't, and I didn't say there was anything wrong with your cattle, either." Ruby said, giving Jaune a playful shove, knocking the man sideways into the tall grass. "All I'm saying is that you need to find a girl who's more your type, that's all."

"She's right dude…" Sun added. "If they can kick your ass, probably not a good idea. Not saying much if Ruby can knock you off your feet."

"Sun!" Ruby shot back, giving Sun a disapproving look.

"No, he's right, Ruby…" Jaune grumbled as he dusted himself off. "So, have you guys decided what you're going to do about the-you-know-what, yet?" Jaune asked, pointing to Ruby's midriff. It was an awkward question, but inquiring minds wanted to know. Jaune's many sisters did nothing but gossip over the fact that Ruby was pregnant. He had to admit, even he was curious. He never expected his best friend to fall for a guy, or to get knocked-up.

"We're keeping it." Sun said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world to him. "Why do you humans keep gawking at her like it's some kind of taboo?"

"It's because humans generally want to actually get married first. I mean, not always, but you've got to remember, it is way more common to have a baby out of wedlock in the cities." Ruby told him, for what seemed like the umpteenth time. "Everyone's just curious. Besides, Faunus and humans generally don't get together around here."

Jaune nodded. "Vale's pretty open minded, but even so, you two are a rare thing."

"You guys are crazy." Sun scoffed. "When I got here from Vacuo, it was all over in the cities. I mean, at least, I think it was. Looked pretty common to me."

"More common than Vacuo, for sure." Jaune shrugged. "Definitely more common than Atlas."

"Jaune, it's illegal for Faunus and humans to be together in Atlas…" Ruby deadpanned.

"That's my point though." Jaune said, as he looked at her belly once more. She wasn't showing yet, but he and his sisters weren't stupid. He'd seen her bent over behind a tree enough times to know she'd been dealing with the nausea and vomiting common in early pregnancy. Chances were good that the baby would be a Faunus, just like Sun. "I'm surprised Ruby's dad didn't murder you, knowing what it could mean, and all."

"Dad's not like most of the guys around here who just went to a hunter's academy. He lived as one, so he knows how important the idea of a family is for a Faunus." Ruby said watching Sun shrug uncaringly as if to agree. Jaune wasn't quite so calm about her casual statement. "I mean, sure, it was a little unexpected. It's not like he has any room to talk. Yang and I are half-sisters for a reason."

"I don't get it, Sun. you're always so lucky." Jaune could only sigh at that, envying Sun. Ruby was a good person, and they both deserved to be happy. He just wished luck would be on his side a little too. He felt, the sentiment bore repeating. "I just don't get it."

"That's because you're looking at it the wrong way." Sun said with another flick of his long tail. "Luck doesn't have anything to do with it…"

* * *

A hard day of work could only silence the mind for so long, and Yang's mind had gotten used to the routine. The mundanity of it all only made her thoughts drift. They'd slip away from her when she least wanted them to, lacking the razor sharp focus that Ruby had at her disposal. She did the only thing she could, she grabbed her pen and her diary. With the help of a glass and a bottle of single malt whiskey, she put pen to paper.

The cycle was an endless one.

 _God, I'm bored. I've always been bored just hanging around here. Even as a kid, I knew I couldn't just sit around. I couldn't be locked in my own head. I had to do something. I'd always say, if I was given the chance of a lifetime, I'd take it. I was so sure of that. I wanted an adventure. I knew deep down that I wouldn't look back. I'd get on my bike, and go._

 _Just…_

 _Go…_

 _Where?_

 _Dunno._

 _I guess, I never really needed to know._

 _I figured I'd just start seizing every opportunity for the better._

 _When I got old enough, I traded a bike for a moped. When I was sixteen, I traded that in for a motorcycle. I've always been a high octane sort of person, and I still don't want to settle down. I went to school to be a huntress so that I could go after Grimm. I got the training so that I could travel the world. I wanted to be able to tell my little sister all kinds of stories. The kinds that we grew up with._

 _She ended up going to school too, of course. She said it was so that she could return the favor. Funny how that works out, huh._

 _ _Of course, I knew if I left home, I'd have to make scarifies…__

 _It wouldn't be easy. It wasn't a simple answer to a lot of my problems. I'd have to turn my back on a lot of things. My home, my family, and the comfortable little life I'd always known. I'd have to leave behind the security and promise of a roof over my head, and a good meal whenever I wanted it. There were more than a handful of people I'd have to leave behind, but to be honest, most of them didn't matter to me._

 _Hell, most of them still don't. It's not for a lack of trying, I just don't feel like I fit in around here._

 _The people that live on this sleepy little island aren't bad people. _They're nice people, but, that's all they are.__

 _ _Happy. Complacent. Simple folk. There's not anything wrong with that, but...__

Yang paused, finishing off her glass before pouring another. The moment the glass touched her lips, she regretted it. It was too late now though, as she swallowed down the stiff drink. Again, she picked up her pen, and continued to write.

 _Look, if I could be the same way, I'd want to be. I envy the sort of people who can just sit around with a beer after a long day's work. Looking out into their fields, eyeing the crops as the sun fades into obscurity behind the corn. I think, on some level at least, that's what most people would want for me too. It's a steady life out here, almost a guarantee._

 _It's pretty safe, almost to the point that the wandering Grimm have all but faded from the area._

 _My training as a huntress is going to waste here. I've never felt so torn in my life. I want to leave, but, there are some things that are just too important to me. No matter what I do, there are some people I just can't leave behind._

 _Maybe, I'm not cut out to be a huntress after all._

Dejectedly, she closed the book.

In fact, Yang wasn't anything like her sister. They were polar opposites. They shared different looks, goals, passions, and even friends. Their ideologies were so different that sometimes they even fought about it. If they stood side by side, no one would know they shared the same father. No one would guess that they even belonged in the same family. Several people had even said as much over the years. For the most part, Yang didn't mind the comments either.

They were true, after all.

Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long were only on good terms because they worked very hard to keep it that way. They were sisters because they tried to be. Family because they wanted it that way. In spite of her greatest efforts though, Yang had to admit, she was incredibly jealous of her little half-sister.

Unlike Ruby, Yang sat at a crossroads in life.

She could see the light glimmering softly from the barn's loft, where Ruby had chosen to set up her workbench and small living area. The young woman still kept her room in the household, but she rarely used it anymore. Most of her belongings in there stayed only for storage. Yang had laughed when Ruby began staying in the barn more often than before. The blonde even sent dirty smirks across the table at her sister when she realized who, exactly, joined Ruby on many nights.

Then, one night, Ruby came home with a positive pregnancy test and a ring on her finger.

It was around that time that things began to get less humorous.

What Yang assumed to be a few adventuresome rolls in the hay had become so much more. It had become the life Ruby chose for herself. Since then, even her little sister had a future set in front of her. Ruby more or less had it all planned out. Soon she'd be moving into Sun's small hut, located on the Arc property. She would have the baby with Sun, and they would raise it together.

Yang wanted to be happy for her. She felt that on some level she'd be a terrible person if she wasn't happy for Ruby.

So many unanswered questions had plagued their childhood. So many things Yang had no words for, and that Ruby had been too young to understand at the time. The small gap in their ages made all the difference. It was just enough. Ruby had grown up with the luxury of having no actual connection to either of the women that had been in their lives.

Not Yang's mother, Raven Branwen.

Nor Ruby's own mother, Summer Rose.

Ruby had no actual memories of either of them. She had been too little to really understand anything about the family's history. All she had were stories and old photographs. She didn't have any of the baggage that went along with it.

Yang had been just old enough that her life harbored cruelty. In her earlies memories, she was just on the cusp of understanding what the loud yelling meant. The slamming of doors had been her lullaby on many nights. She was just old enough to remember her mother, and just old enough to understand what 'leaving for good' meant. When Summer Rose passed away a few years later, Yang had a basic concept of death that Ruby just didn't have.

A morbid understanding that death was forever. A person couldn't ever come back from that, even if they'd wanted to.

Yang was jealous of the life Ruby got to have because of that lucky few year gap. One that had so perfectly protected her innocent childhood. She was jealous of the love Ruby got to have, and the carefree days her little sister seemed to spend because of her happiness. Yang was jealous of all of it, almost to the point of bitterness.

The blonde never said an unkind thing, or let her thoughts escape her mind.

Words were like glue, slathering her tongue and throat, sliding back into her gullet like a sludge. Weapons were powerful, but in her hand they might as well have been nothing. She closed her eyes and sighed as she looked down at the glass she had squeezed too tightly.

She pushed herself up from the desk, shards of glass surrounding her. They were just fragments, much like the rest of her life in recent days. Yang bit back a great many curses. Experience had proven that shaking an angry fist at the world wouldn't do her any good.

Although she knew that, just as she suspected every huntress knew that, it was not enough to ward away the several venomous critiques that soured her spirit.

The obvious cure she turned to was temporary, same as the hangover promising to turn her mind to sludge the moment she sobered up. Still she turned to the amber liquid willingly, holding the bottle aloft as if it were the spirit of god himself before draining the last of the liquid. She gulped it greedily, until there was nothing less.

Smashing that glass upon the floor, it too glittered and reflected the shards in the dim light.

It was amazing how the gentle eyes of Ruby could turn Yang into such a coward. How the gentlest soul Yang had ever known could make the formidable Yang Xiao Long terrified. Yet, cower she did, fleeing in terror from the voice she could hear in her own head. Tiny insecurities boiling over.

Drunkenly, she glared at the paperwork soiled by droplets of booze and sharp glass.

The mission.

The name.

Weiss Schnee.

It was connected to too many things. Most of them, Yang didn't want any part of. Even after a few drinks too many, she knew her father had a point. The paper was lightweight in her hands, tangible, and before she'd even given it another careful thought, she logged into her scroll and pulled the mission off of the virtual board, claiming it as her own. There were several documents that she had to thumb through, a single green icon the last barrier.

She clicked it, her thumb fumbling on the glass touchscreen. Then, her eyes drifted closed, and her scroll slipped from her hands.

Mission accepted.


	3. Chapter 3

**Dreams in the Fields - Chapter 3**

Missions were funny little things, really. They could be made for any number of reasons. Some were much more professional than others. When it came to the highest bracketed missions, the well-respected ones, took a very long time to set them up accordingly. Several eyes and ears would often be demanded to oversee the paperwork. If the mission took place in a different kingdom, sometimes there would be a waiting list.

Far off into the norther reaches of Atlas, two women worked late into the night.

They drowned themselves in that mission related paperwork. One large desk had been covered in stacks of sloppily slapped together information. They sifted through all of it in a disorganized fashion. A loud musical tone erupted from one of the nearby scrolls, and the dark haired woman lunged for it. She ended up knocking her empty coffee mug from the desk by accident. Paying it no mind, a pair of golden eyes glared at the screen. The pad of her thumb absently sliding across the four digit pin number.

A little blip of green appeared, along with the five simple words…

 _Your mission has been accepted._

Blake Belladonna had waited for a long time to hear a reply from a huntress in Vale. There was no connected file to the huntress in question. No prior screening. No mission dossier for her to examine. Blake went in search of a name, but even that seemed missing. There was nothing besides the small acceptance screen, and the picture of the huntress who'd accepted it. Every other field was left blank. Well, every field except for the scroll number the acceptance had been sent from.

The black haired Faunus lifted her gaze from her scroll, meeting expectant blue eyes who studied her silently. "The mission has been accepted, Ms. Schnee. It looks like Vale's ready to welcome our arrival with open arms." Blake replied steadily in the face of that silent admonishment.

"Of course it has been accepted." The woman behind the desk sighed. "The offered payment was too much for a huntress to pass up. My father made sure of that."

The Faunus felt her ears flick from beneath her bow. An article she donned because the head of the family demanded it. He hated seeing Faunus appendages. He loathed knowing what rested beneath that bow of hers. She hated wearing it too. Feeling the silk constrict her movements in every undesirable way imaginable. Still, Blake suffered the treatment, because she was not the only one being crushed by the weight of heavy handed expectation.

The woman she was commanded to guard was being tormented too.

Weiss always seemed shackled by this room, the desk, and all it represented. The large and imposing thing was made of white wood, and topped with clear glass. It dwarfed the middle Schnee sibling entirely, making her seem like a child sitting at the desk of a beloved parent. Perhaps, in some ways, that was true. This desk was not made for Weiss, and her likeness and pleasures were lacking in this barren office. The walls void of anything but the plain pure color.

It was the same cold tone as everything else in the household. It was meant to make a statement. The same uninviting blankness that could drive a person to insanity with its ruthless sterility.

The color white.

To add insult to injury, this office hadn't been used in almost two decades. Once, an elderly man took residence in this room to sign his final papers and prepare for his fate. The founder of the esteemed SDC gave away the company to his successor at this very desk. He withered away during his final months, clearing away anything meaningful or personal to him. He bid his family farewell in the next room over, on his deathbed. He died a famous man. A cunning one, with more money to his name than the rest of the world had sense.

Weiss had watched it all happen with the naiveté of youth, and the luxury of innocence.

Life had a way of being cruel, and those two coveted things had left her long ago. This desk, and this room, lingering as a testament to all of it. A confessional that needed no words, often inhabited by a young woman with no apology to give.

"Blake, you'll pack our bags and prepare for our departure. We'll leave as soon as all of the preparations have been made."

"Yes, Ms. Schnee." It didn't matter that the hour was late, or that they'd been tirelessly at work for days with very little sleep. She was to do exactly as Weiss asked of her, whenever Weiss asked it of her. It was only a small consolation that Weiss was normally fair in her requests, and this was no different. The Faunus was getting up to do as she had been told, when Weiss spoke again.

"Forward any information you have on this woman to my scroll. I'd like to examine her credentials." Weiss ordered steadily. "You're also to correspond to her accordingly, let her know of my expectations."

"Yes, Ms. Schnee." Blake said with a small bow.

"Don't forget to inform my father of whatever plans you make. Keep them detailed, you know how he is."

"Of course, Ma'am…"

"And for the last time, cut that out already…" Weiss grumbled at that. "I hate it when you do that when we're alone."

"You'd hate it more if the walls had ears, Ms. Schnee." Blake said quietly, her voice hushed. "We cannot speak casually, not here."

Weiss tilted her head, a soft roll of her eyes the only agreeance that Blake would receive on the topic. "When we leave for Vale, come armed."

"Ma'am, I feel I must remind you that weapons are not a simple thing to get through the boarder." Blake replied then, her words not a challenge, but a simple truth. "It will require a bit of preparation."

"Then you will get it done, Blake." Weiss said sternly. "I refuse to put my safety in the hands of a mere huntress."

"Yes ma'am." Blake bowed once more, but there was an impish smirk toying across her lips that had absolutely no right to be there. Blake was a huntress too, after all, even though she never had dealings with monsters known as grimm. "Will that be all?"

Weiss felt her lips wane thin with aggravation. "Yes, that will be all, so stop teasing me, and get it done."

"As you wish." She said, righting herself and exiting the room, knowing that the tip of the heiress's tongue cradled curses. They'd bubble there incessantly, waiting to be released into the air where no one would be able to hear it. Blake knew the woman's temper. The moment that the Faunus shut the door, Weiss glared daggers at it. A soft, but dangerous rage bottlenecking her otherwise imperious demeanor.

Truth be told, Blake was happy she could unbalance the woman, setting her off kilter for even the slightest moment, come of that rage what may. At the very least, it was proof enough that Weiss was not the unfeeling person that people made her out to be.

* * *

Night grew lonely quickly, as it always seemed to.

Weiss exited her grandfather's old office and locked the door behind her. The room and the documents concealed within would go undisturbed until morning. What would not go undisturbed was the woman's sanity. No, there was always something disrupting her otherwise careful scheduling. In some cases it was business that kept her busy. Other times, suitors sought the pleasure of her company. Generally, it was all a hassle put upon her by her very own father.

He had a habit of using her to meet his own goals.

Weiss quickly discovered that night's misery. She sighed as she glimpsed a vase. A blue bow was tied neatly along the elegant white glass. A dozen white roses were carefully placed, sprigs of greenery cropping up from between the spaces. She reached for the card. Elegant script completing a tidy note. The young male thanking her for a wonderful evening out, and asking her for another.

She folded the card, placing it into her pocket. It was a formality, nothing more.

Taking the flowers, she headed to her bedroom. Placing them on the vanity, the refection of herself showed her frown perfectly. The flowers next to her doing nothing to actually please her. If one were to ask her opinion of the matter, she would have said she hated the gesture for all that it was, and all it would ever be. The gift's very intentions were sinister to say the least. Yet no one had asked. More importantly, no one actually cared for her opinion on the matter, and so long as that was the case she would always hate flowers.

To her, it was a profane gesture, one lacking even the decency to be honest.

This man, and all of the men that her father had introduced to her, all had one thing in common. They were to his personal liking. Deplorable people. Perhaps not on a personal level, but on a moral one at least. On general principle, Weiss could not agree with them. If she could not do that, she could hardly share polite conversation, let alone intimacy. That was the worst of it, these men wanted more than just a dinner. They desired to dip their greedy fingers into the recesses of the one thing Weiss wanted the most.

The Schnee Dust Company, the whole company, in and of itself.

She certainly didn't want the ill-begotten gift loitering in her room. She opened the vanity drawer. Hidden inside was a small wooden box filled with blank cards, and grasping one she wrote a simple note and placed it gently among the roses. Then, she made her trek along the long hallways and down to the butler's quarters.

"Klein." She said loudly enough to carry, knocking on his door at the absolutely obscene hour. Technically, he was off the clock, and not to be disturbed for any reason outside of an emergency. "Klein, wake up."

The man finally did open his door, clad in flannel pajamas and a cap atop his balding head. His scowl fading quickly as he saw what Weiss held in her hands. She needed no words to describe her displeasure, and he softly smiled, compassion edging into his features.

"Another one?" He asked softly. "This young man must be quite taken with you."

"Mr. Winchester is nothing if not persistent." Weiss said, allowing Klein to take the unwanted parcel from her.

"Ah, yes. Well, some young women might find it charming."

"It's revolting." She said darkly.

"Come now, let's get you out of the drafty hallway." The butler murmured under his breath. He then ushered her into his small living area. The studio sized room at the far end of the manor was decorated to his tastes, and it was his to do as he wished. He didn't have many friends, and only a small crimson curtain partitioned his sleeping space from his living area. "You'll have to excuse the unsightliness, I wasn't expecting you to come so late at night." He said, pulling the curtain closed so that Weiss wouldn't have to look at his unmade bed. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No, but thank you." She said to him. "I don't plan to stay long, Klein, I…" The heiress trailed off. There was no need to say it, Klein already knew.

"Don't worry so much. This will play out the same as the others." Klein replied. "You must continue to be firm, that's all. Stick to your convictions, and you will succeed."

"I'm starting to doubt that." Weiss replied.

"You always have before." He cleared his throat, a scowl returning as he turned his attention back to the matter at hand. "So, then, how shall I dispose of your flowers this time?"

"The same as every other time. Send them to Flynt with a small amount of money from my personal accounts. Make sure the withdrawal is commiserate with my other expenditures. Label it as part of my funds towards the beatification committee." Weiss said then, the answer so natural to her. "How is his father doing?"

"Very ill." Klein said softly. "Weiss, he will not get better, you know this. The best the man can do is live out the rest of his life as painlessly as possible."

"With my father avoiding every regulation he can down in those mines, it's not any question as to why."

"Black lung is one thing, but dust poisoning is entirely another. Although, I do admit to some hesitation, even so." Klein shook his head. It wasn't something Weiss could focus on. Not yet, and he refused to put such dreary thoughts into her head where they would surely stew. "I will send them the money as you wish, of course."

"Klein, why do you hesitate at all?"

"If your father were to ever find out, there would be very serious repercussions."

"Which is why I use these ill-begotten flowers as the means to deliver the money." Weiss shot back. "It looks like a publicity stunt on the books, and little more."

"Still, Weiss, I would tread lightly if I were you." He said to her.

Weiss could only nod. "I know, Klein. I will do the best that I can."

"Will that be all, then?"

"Yes. I should be going." She said heading back to the door. "I'm sorry for disturbing you at the late hour, sleep well."

"You too." He said softly as he ushered her out.

Weiss meandered back to her own room more slowly this time. Killing time the only way she knew how, by wandering the lonely halls to the family library, mindlessly picking out a book from the rows of shelves. This time it seemed to be a history book of some nature, probably propaganda, but she took it with her anyway. She flipped through the pages as she walked, scanning the text, but believing none of it. Eventually Weiss found herself reaching her room, and the lack of solace within.


End file.
